What is WIRES?
WIRES is the first annual international summit for women who are interested in pursuing collaborative researching opportunities. The main objective of this summit is to enable meaningful and sustainable research exchanges between female engineers from around the world while identifying issues faced by females pursuing careers in engineering that could benefit from a global strategy.
Who will be at WIRES?
Since this event will be the first in a series of such summits, it will focus on three research “clusters” or themes:
What are some of the goals of WIRES?
Provide a forum for forging personal, sustainable relationships among female engineers from the U.S. and abroad by revealing facilities/expertise available in the respective countries.
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Provide a clear, visible pathway for females to pursue international collaborations.
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Identify methods of securing funding for international collaborations from federal agencies, international sources (e.g., NATO, UNESCO), the private sector, foundations, etc.
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Identify common issues faced by females pursuing careers in engineering such as, inclusiveness in research endeavors, female-friendly environments, institutions, & companies, family leave policies, "dual-career couple" issues.
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Focus on the global engineering research enterprise by enabling the participants to develop a personal understanding of how engineering research is conducted in various countries around the world.
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Generate a database of female faculty who are interested in conducting international research.
What will participants do? (See Full Agenda)
The activities scheduled for WIRES are planned to help women initiate and sustain international collaboration. With the aid of several women who have previously participated in international collaboration, the following activities have been scheduled to realize the goals of WIRES:
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Pathway to International Collaborations: Faculty and industry who have previously participated in international collaboration will share success stories and explain how their experience has benefited their research. Along with listening to the women speak, a panel discussion will allow WIRES participants to ask questions pertaining to their specific interests.
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Poster Session: Each participant will showcase their research interests during the poster session to gauge other participant’s interest in forming collaborative research teams. This will allow attendees to network with others and identify those with complimentary research interests, skills and resources.
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Panel of Funding Agency Representatives: Funding agency representatives will talk about types of collaborations they have funded in the past and are looking to fund in the future. This will increase WIRES applicants’ knowledge about the funding process and how to tailor their goals to match those wanting to provide the financial support.
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Identification of Global Gender Equity Issues: This session will identify some of today’s most common gender equity issues and discuss how these will benefit from a global strategy. More importantly, this will act as a general forum to recognize steps that need to be taken to reduce and eliminate current issues.
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Break Out Session to Talk about Potential Collaborations: After networking with other applicants and hearing about funding opportunities, participants will have more time to identify feasible collaborations and make plans to take the next steps.
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Office Hours with Funding Agency Representatives: After hearing general recommendations from the panel, WIRES applicants will be able to discuss specific research collaboration opportunities with funding agencies to determine the best fit. This personal interaction will allow feedback personalized to research interests.
How to apply?
To apply to attend WIRES in Barcelona, Spain, June 2-4, 2009, apply on-line at www.wires.gatech.edu. Applicants will be required to give faculty and industry background along with identifying at least two ideas for future research interests. The data collected from applicants will be used to identify common trends in current international research and modify the summit to address common issues.
Thanks to the National Science Foundation and corporate sponsors, conference fees will be waived for all attendees. In exchange, some corporate sponsors will receive a list of attendees and their research interests. Corporate sponsors include, but are not limited to the following: National Science Foundation, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of California, Hewlett-Packard, and Johnson & Johnson.
Who should apply?
The purpose of the events planned is to encourage international collaboration. As all the events are centered on this goal, it is advised that WIRES attendees come with ideas for future research collaborations.
Need more information?
Don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity to get involved in WIRES. If you have any questions about the summit contact one of the following people:
Dr. Mary Lynn Realff
marylynn.realff@ptfe.gatech.edu
Dr. Gretchen Kalonji
Gretchen.kalonji@ucop.edu
Angie Abbot
angie.abbott@ptfe.gatech.edu
Amanda Chamberlin
achamberlin@gatech.edu |
